Cyril and Methodius

Lore & Background

The two brothers were born in Thessalonica, in the Byzantine province of the same name. Cyril was born Constantine in 827–828, and Methodius was born Michael in 815–820. Their father was Leo, a droungarios of the Byzantine theme of Thessalonica, and their mother was Maria. Cyril reputedly was the youngest of seven brothers. After their father died when Cyril was fourteen, the powerful minister Theoktistos became their protector. Cyril was ordained as priest after his education, while Methodius remained a deacon until 867/868. Around 860, Emperor Michael III and Patriarch Photius sent Cyril on a missionary expedition to the Khazars; Methodius may have accompanied him, but this is uncertain. In 862, Prince Rastislav of Great Moravia requested missionaries to evangelize his Slavic subjects. The Emperor sent Cyril and Methodius, who began translating the Gospels and liturgical books into Old Church Slavonic and devised the Glagolitic script. They wrote the first Slavic Civil Code, used in Great Moravia.

Reader's Guide

Cyril and Methodius are significant for creating the Glagolitic alphabet, the first script for Slavonic manuscripts, and for their missionary work that established a Slavic liturgy. Their translations of the Gospels and liturgical books into Old Church Slavonic laid the foundation for Church Slavonic, still used in many Orthodox and some Eastern Catholic churches. Their efforts faced opposition from German clerics who claimed ecclesiastical jurisdiction over Moravia and Pannonia. The brothers traveled to Rome in 867, bringing relics of Pope Saint Clement I, and received papal support from Pope Adrian II, who authorized the Slavic liturgy. After their deaths, their disciples continued the mission among other Slavs. Both are venerated in the Eastern Orthodox Church as saints with the title 'equal-to-apostles.' In 1880, Pope Leo XIII introduced their feast into the Roman Rite; in 1980, Pope John Paul II declared them co-patron saints of Europe, together with Benedict of Nursia. Their legacy includes the Cyrillic script, a descendant of Glagolitic, used by many languages today.

Did You Know?

• Cyril was born Constantine and took the name Cyril upon becoming a monk in Rome shortly before his death.
• Methodius was born Michael and took the name Methodius upon becoming a monk at Polychron Monastery.
• The brothers brought the relics of Pope Saint Clement I to Rome, which contributed to their warm reception there.
• The exact ethnic origins of Cyril and Methodius are unknown, with controversy over whether they were of Slavic or Greek origin, or both.